Phases
by beautiful.contradiction
Summary: Many things can happen under the fullness of the moon. Love, hate, revenge, death... and Change. Someone returns, and the small town of Ipswich is shaken to the core once again. [ReidOC]
1. Late Arrival

**A/N: **Just as a warning, you are now entering the cliché-story zone. That's right, new girl with a secret comes and gets involved with one of the Sons of Ipswich. Sorry, I just couldn't resist. I bought the movie on DVD just to be able to recall some things about the characters, setting, and events. This little plot bunny has been discreetly hopping around in my head since I saw it, and I just had to.

Also, I know that the real way to spell 'Spencer' is actually Spenser. But, for some reason, I absolutely despise the spelling like that. So I'm gonna stick with Spencer Academy. One more thing, I'm making some things up about werewolves so my story will work right, sorry for all you werewolf-specialists.

Criticism and flames welcome. 'Cause you can't get better if you don't know what you're doing wrong.

I warn you, the first chapter's a bit slow… and dull.

**Standard disclaimers apply.****

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"_The best way to predict your future is to create it."  
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The view outside the window was plain and continuous. Crops, crops, crops, and more crops. They never seemed to end, going on for miles, which was exceedingly different from Barview, Oregon. Inside, the train was relatively quiet, save for the hushed murmurs of the other passengers and a baby giggling somewhere in the back. A few people made their way to the food section in the caboose every couple of hours and newspapers shuffled, that seemed to be the only movement taking place. Everyone seemed to be contented with the ride, except for one girl sitting window side.

Cydnie Mason sat almost motionless, staring out the large window impassively at the not-so-enticing view with her deep green eyes. Her fingers gripped the arm rest tightly, twitching every few seconds trying to resist the urge to rise up and smack the man next to her point blank in the face. The man in question, a 45 year-old with quite the receding hairline, had been snoring obnoxiously loud for the past hour and a half. He wore an expensive-looking pinstripe suit and one of those sleep blindfold things, even though the sun was just beginning to set on the horizon.

_I am going… to go crazy._ She thought, in annoyance. _And if I do snap, I'm killing this man and we're going to hell together._

Fed up, she rose from her seat and shoved past the man, bumping his knees on her way to the bathroom. Truthfully, she didn't really have to go to the bathroom, but she needed to get away from that man because she had been seriously contemplating ending his life in those last minutes before she got up. She hoped that the small walk would calm her nerves, and clear her mind. Reaching the door, she checked if it was unoccupied before entering and locking it shut behind her.

The light was dim, the mirror was dirty, and she noticed the distinct stench of urine and crap hanging in the cramped area. It would do. She leaned against the sink, rubbed her eyes, and let out a slow cleansing breath. It made her feel somewhat better. Unlocking the door, she pretended to fiddle with her checkered belt as she made her back to her seat.

When she arrived, the man was no longer there and neither was his briefcase. Either he had went to get something to eat or the train had stopped at a station while she was 'using' the facility. Whatever the answer, she was happy that he was gone and she had both seats to herself. Stretching out, she leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes, only planning to rest her eyes for a couple minutes.

She must have fallen asleep.

It was a little a before dawn when she woke up, the sun barely a quarter past the horizon. Her eyelids shut and lifted a few times, before she shifted and stretched out her cramped arms. Rifting a hand through her dark brown-red locks, she looked around sleepily at her shadowed surroundings. The amount of passengers had decreased massively since the last time she was awake, now there were only a few seated randomly around the rows and most of them were snoozing quietly. Stifling a yawn, she turned to watch the sunrise in peace.

Quiet, she thought. Very nice.

As she sat, she thought about her destination. Ipswich, Massachusetts. She would be attending Spencer Academy there, a school that enforced the rule of uniforms… which meant skirts. She mentally gagged at the thought. The academy had dorms, which also meant she had a roommate and she hoped her roommate prided privacy as much as she. It was going to be a lot different from the school she was transferring from.

Filmont High was a stereotypical high school, filled with cliques and drama to spare. There were the typical jocks, cheerleaders, nerds, artsies, Goths, emos and loners. She was a loner and most of the rumors were about her and what she did when she wasn't at school. Some said that she went home and chanted dark spells, while others protested that drank blood and tooled in the art of voodoo. But all their accusations and assumptions were wrong, but not so far from the actual truth.

For, she was a werewolf.

---

For a good 3 hours and a half, the ride was silent, save for the sound of the train gliding the tracks, before slowing to a stop parallel of the platform. By that time, everyone was up and either getting up to leave, going to the bathroom, or making their way to the back for some food. Cydnie was in the group getting off; she had grabbed her lone suitcase, strapped on her backpack and was already halfway out the sliding doors. As she shoved her way through doors, she bumped shoulders with a man who was huddled in his overcoat walking the opposite way. She looked over shoulder to apologize.

"Sorry sir, I-" She began, and halted her sentence when she noticed his sinister smirk – a smirk she recognized – before the doors slid shut.

She spun around, back facing the locomotive, as if she turned around the same man would be looming over her with that same expression.

_Was that…?_ She tried to convince herself otherwise. _Nah, couldn't be – I left him back in Barview._ And with that, the situation dropped.

The sun glared low in the sky, and she put a hand to shield her eyes from the light. It was only about nine in the morning as she stood on the platform, trying to get her bearings as the train slowly pulled out of the station, she watched it go until she could no longer see it. Now, she thought. Back to the situation at hand.

Finally, after 3 days, she had made it to her destination. And she wasn't at all impressed. Glenwood appeared to look like any other small North-Eastern town, like the ones she had seen in the books at her previous school. Cloudy, overcast sun with light colored pastel houses. Chilly from the winds blowing off from the ocean, and boats out by the docks. She doubted Ipswich would look any different.

She swiveled back and forth in place looking for a man in some type of suit with her name on it – or something along those lines. When she had gotten the acceptance letter from Spencer, it was enclosed with a train ticket and directions that a man would pick her up from the station and drive her to the campus. So far, she found nothing and no one. Her stomach growled loudly, causing her to cover it, embarrassed. That's when her eyes caught an old white painted sign hanging off a door. It read _Strauss Café._

Sounded yummy.

Picking up her blast-from-the-past swamp green suitcase, she found no harm in going over there to have a quick bite to eat, seeing as her chauffeur hadn't bothered to show up yet. Crossing the almost deserted street, Cyd pushed opened the doors and found herself a two-person table next to the window. Settling in nicely, she placed her things on the chair across from her and sat patiently to be waited on. It didn't take long, business was slow and the lone waitress jumped at the chance of activity.

"Hi! Welcome to Strauss Café," the waitress practically belted. "Would you like to order now or take a moment and look over our menu?"

"Um, no thanks," she answered, slightly startled by the volume of the girls voice. I'll just take a cinnamon roll and a hot chocolate, please."

The waitress bent down to grab my menu, and she saw that her name was Kristy. She glanced at her out of her peripheral vision. Yup, she looked like a Kristy aright. Loose blonde curls and big blue eyes, with a big wide the-customer-is-always-right smile. You would almost forget that being upbeat was part of her job. Kristy smiled, nodded, and ran off to place the order. It only took about ten minutes for her food and drink to get to her. Thanking Kristy, she took a sip out of mug and sighed dreamily. They used real whole milk to make their cocoa. Ripping of the end of the roll, the warm icing felt nice against her finger as she placed it in her mouth. Someone pinch her, she was in heaven.

She took another 15 minutes to finish off her little paradise, pulled 20 dollars out for the tip and cost, then left and walked back across the street. There as no one at the platform except for one boy, looking nervously around as if he'd lost something important. He looked a little younger than her, but knew they were the same age. He looked frantic enough, that she was willing to help with whatever he needed.

Coming up behind him, she noticed she was only at his shoulder area, and tapped him on the collar. When he spun around, she gave him a comforting smile.

"Are you looking for something?" she asked curiously.

---

Tyler was running late that morning.

… And he was definitely not taking it well. The Provost had called him into his office the day before, to ask him a large favor of picking a new student up from the Glenwood train station. Originally, Caleb was offered to do this task, but had to turn it down due to his mother's doctor's appointment. So, he assumed that it'd be important and crucial for him to get to the platform on time, so he could give a good first impression for him and the school.

Unfortunately, Reid had stolen his last clean uniform and had worn it to class that day, leaving Tyler to wear his dirty one. He had searched through his own laundry basket until he'd found it, throwing it on and grabbing one of Reid's ties off the floor as he left. His jacket was unbuttoned and his tie hung undone around his neck, the first few buttons of his shirt were undone as he made his way to the large black Hummer in the parking lot. He hopped in and started his baby, running a hand through his dark hair. He had forgotten to gel it after his shower, so it looked tousled, falling slightly into his eyes.

It was already nine when he pulled off of the school's campus and onto the main road. Higgins had told him that the transferee's train would arrive around 8:50-9ish, and that he should be there ten minutes prior. Now it was 9:03, and he was just getting on the road. He knew for a fact that it took about twenty minutes to get the station from Spencer, and he hoped that his attendant was patient.

He drove the speed limit, agitated that he couldn't go any faster because he knew as soon as he started pushing the limit the cops would be on his ass, pulling him over. Thankfully there was no one on the road; most of the townsfolk were already at work or school, so he had an uninterrupted drive. There was no music pounding through his sound system as he pulled into an empty parking space, in the deserted lot. The Glenwood train station wasn't much; it was basically a long strip of rectangular concrete roofed by a wooden pavilion with two benches at each end and completed with a one-manned ticket booth. Stepping out, he looked around and locked his vehicle.

There didn't seem to be anyone around. He checked his watch; it read nine twenty-seven.

Panicking ever so slightly, he made his way over to the ticket booth. Knocking on the protective glass, he seemed to have woken the cashier out of their sleep. The dull looking employee looked slightly miffed to be awakened, and glared at Tyler sleepily from his seated position. Pushing a black button close to his finger, the snapping sound of the speaker echoed.

"Yes?" he asked irritably.

"I was wondering if you saw anybody get off the train about, er – a half hour ago?" Tyler replied, looking down at the man.

The man looked thoughtful for a second, reclining in his seat, his name flashing. It read Bert. He sat back up and pressed the button again, hearing the snapping noise, and rested his mouth over the speaker a moment before speaking.

"No," Bert said finally.

"Are you sure?" Tyler pressed. He was in deep shit of he couldn't find this person.

"_Yes,_" the man breathed out, exasperated at Tyler's need for reassurance.

Tyler sighed, "Okay, thanks."

He paced back and forth, a little ways from the booth. Rubbing his hands together in thought, he stood still, back facing the street and sorted out some possibilities. _Maybe the train hasn't gotten here yet,_ he thought hopefully._ Or maybe the train got here early and they already left without waiting. Or…_He wasn't helping himself.

Frantically looking from left to right, he almost pulled at his hair in anxiety. He was about to call and tell the Provost about his mistake. That is… until he got a tap on the shoulder. Turning, he saw girl a couple inches shorter than him lugging the ugliest suitcase he'd ever seen. She had slightly wavy dark brown-red hair and deep green eyes, with a subtle tan complexion. He silently checked her out, until he realized she was asking something.

"Are you looking for something?" she repeated again.

"Uh – actually, I'm looking for some_one_," he said, unsure of this girl's sudden presence. Who the hell was she?

"Oh, really?" she questioned lightly. "If it helps, I'm looking for someone too."

He nodded at her absentmindedly. "Yeah, I'm supposed to be picking someone up here," feeling a little more comfortable around her, he added more. "Apparently, they're transferring here from across the country."

"No fucking way! I'm transferring here from across the county," she gasped, then questioned. "Do you happen to be the person supposedly bringing me to Spencer Academy?"

He stared.

This was the person he was supposed to be picking up, and there he was having ten minute conversation with them, oblivious to that fact? He looked her over – truthfully, he was expecting a guy. But a cute girl would do any day.

"Yeah, I guess so," rubbing the back of his neck with his hand sheepishly. "Truthfully, I was expecting a guy, but I _guess _you'll do." he joked.

"Ha-ha, you're a riot."

---

The ride was quiet on the way back. There was no music, no opening of windows, and no conversation. Just silence. After they had confirmed that he was the one driving her to Spencer, and he had apologized for being tardy, they were on their way. He had put her stuff in the backseat, then opened and closed the passenger side door for her, like a real gentlemen wood.

Periodically, he would look at her out of the corner of his eye, just to see if she was alright. He was a bit concerned because she hadn't said one thing in the whole ten minutes he'd been driving so far. No movement, noise, anything. All she did was rest her elbow on the door arm rest, place her chin in her hand and stare through the window. Vaguely he wondered what she was thinking about. Tapping his finger against the steering wheel, he looked at her again and tried to push a little silence away with some conversation.

"Oh, I'm Tyler Simms," he tried to slide in with a 'by-the-way' tone.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, and offered him a small smile.

"Cydnie Mason, Cyd to friends and family," she finished.

She would've been a bit more conversational, but she had something else on her mind. The Full Moon was fast approaching, only a week and a day away, on Saturday. That meant that the Change would happen as always and would also mean she would also have no control of her actions for a whole night. It was deadly for her to be around humans on the night of a Full Moon, for she could easily kill one with one snap of her jaw around their necks. But the landscape of Ipswich was promising to say the least, with most of its land covered in vast amounts of trees.

"We're here," he said, taking a left and snapping Cyd out of her thoughts.

She watched as they drove closer to large prominent-looking building, and noticed one other building a ways down the hill, which she couldn't guess what it was for. Tyler parked the large Jeep and lugged her suitcase to the top of the stone steps of the academy. He bid her a farewell and waved before he went to grab for the door, when he was stopped.

"Hold on!" Cyd called.

"What is it?" he asked, turning slightly.

"Your –" she gestured to his outfit. "– Your uniform, it's not right."

He looked down at himself, realizing he had never fixed himself before he arrived to pick her up earlier. His tie still dangled around his neck undone, as well as the first top buttons of his shirt, and his blazer was unbuttoned exposing his white collared shirt.

"Oh shit!" he exclaimed, fixing his uniform. "Thanks, see you around," and then, he left.

---

She was left all alone, standing on the front landing of one of the most highly regarded schools in the state of Massachusetts. She swallowed the nervous lump in her otherwise dry throat, and entered cautiously. The halls were practically empty, she noticed, as pulled herself fully in the foyer. She assumed that she had arrived in the middle of class, and that most of the kids were in their classrooms. Taking a slow walk down the hall, she took in the sights.

_Man, this place looks as boring as its name, _she thought.

Looking up, she noticed a brown wooden sign, which read 'Administration Office' in white capitol letters hanging above her head. Turning the knob, she dragged her belongings on behind her. As soon as she closed the door, she noted a desk sitting against the left wall or the large room and numerous stiff-looking leather chairs across from it. Making her way up to the desk, she almost gasped in surprise when a short woman popped up from behind it.

The woman was pudgy no doubt, with her gray hair in a tight bun and half-moon spectacles. She had a slightly round face and bangs that curved slightly above the brow of her eye. It seemed that the small lady hadn't even noticed the door open, or even her for that matter. But those guesses were incorrect.

"Did I startle ya?" she chuckled, seating herself. "Sorry about that dear, I always seem to frighten the new ones, ya know?

In all truthfulness, Cyd did not know, but she just nodded anyway. Standing there, feeling slightly awkward, she waited patiently until the older female in front of her was done shuffling through and arranging her many papers. Holding up a paper to the light, she adjusted her glasses and spoke.

"Okay, okay. Let's see here, you're…" she placed the paper down on the surface. "Miss Cydnie Mason, correct?" she questioned, peering over the rims of her specs. When she nodded, the senior of the pair smiled. "Well, good for me! Got it on the first try."

Cyd just nodded numbly.

"Oh – um, you can enter the Provost Higgins's office. Just make sure you knock first," she directed. "And by the way, you can call me Mrs. Harris," she drawled.

Nodding again, she grabbed her suitcase, rapped quietly on the door left of the Mrs. Harris' desk and waited for a response. She heard a distant 'Come in' from the other side of the door. As quietly as possible she entered, shutting the door and sitting a in a chair opposite his desk. The Provost had been scribbling something down in one of his notepads, before he had pushed it to the side and focused on the young woman in front of him.

"Ah, Miss Mason, I presume?" he asked, folding his hands together under his chin.

She nodded.

"And how do you like Ipswich and Spencer so far?" he questioned.

"Both are very nice, sir."

"Good. Now, no need to dilly-dally, I'll get straight to the point," he started. "We here at Spencer Academy are glad to have a top grade student attend our school. Your uniform will arrive tomorrow due to some altercations. You may wear what you have on now to the rest of your classes, but –" he looked over her outfit. "– I expect you to be dressed in your proper uniform by tomorrow and the rest of the year while you're on campus during school hours."

She frowned, but nodded anyway.

"Now, Mrs. Harris has your room key, number, and class schedule at the front desk. That will be all."

Getting up, she grabbed her stuff once again and exited the room. Mrs. Harris gave her a tiny smile as she handed Cyd the necessities listed earlier by the Provost. She waved faintly to the woman as she left the Admin. Office, than began her journey to her new life. She heaved her unattractive suitcase down the hall with one hand, as she held her room key and number in the other. Her suitcase was a throwback to say the least, with its slightly rounded rectangular body and swamp green exterior, it was sure to bring someone back a few decades.

"325, 327, 329… 331, found it."

She jiggled the doorknob a bit, and was surprised to watch the door swing back and even more surprised to see someone already inside. At the bed next to the bathroom, was a girl with shoulder-length brown hair, seemingly stuffing the last of her things into a turquoise duffle bag. When she heard the door close, the girl lifted her head and smiled in her direction. Placing her suitcase on the other bed, she walked over to the girl just as the same girl slung the duffle over her shoulder. As they met somewhat in the middle of the room, the other girl held out a friendly hand.

"Hi, I'm Kristy," the girl introduced, smiling warmly.

_Well, I'll be damned,_ Cyd thought sarcastically. _Another Kristy._

She smiled back with the same warmth. "Nice to meet you, Kristy," she shook the other's hand. "I'm Cydnie, Cyd if you'd like."

"So I'm guessing you're the new roommate I was supposed to be assigned," she smiled again. "But my application for off-campus living just got accepted, so I guess you're roomin' alone till they find you a replacement."

Cyd shrugged. "Oh well, my loss."

Kristy chuckled. "Heh, I like you. Well, see you around."

And with that, she walked past Cyd and out the door.

She walked with the uncertainty of a lost tourist.

Armed with only her class schedule, a notepad and a pen, she walked the deserted hallways in search of the correct room number. There was no one in the hall, and she then wished that she had grabbed a school map on her way out of the office. Taking a right, her eyes glanced down at a wooden tablet on a door that read: _Professor Brookes – Literature. _

She almost screamed in a mixture of joy and relief. She had finally found her destination, after a good fifteen minutes of searching. Twisting the knob, she walked through the mini hallway of the room before reaching the actual room and stood at the ending of the blackboard. Fully aware that most of the class's eyes were on her, she bent her head and focused on the laces of her shoes, but look back up to try and find any familiar faces even though she was new. Once face caught her eye in particular, the boy she had met earlier, Tyler Simms.

He was sitting second seat to the aisle in the middle section, next to some blonde that seemed to be just waking up and an Asian girl doodling on her paper. He had been looking at her since she entered, and had waited for her to notice him. She waved to him timidly, and he jerked his head back slightly in response. It was then she realized that the blonde next to Tyler had been staring at her suggestively for the past few minutes and had leaned over to talk to Tyler, most likely, about her.

"Well, now that you captivated most of my students attention," the teacher drawled dully. "May I ask who you are?"

She went open her mouth.

He peered through his glasses. "Wait – wait, don't tell me. You're that new student that popped up on my attendance sheet today… Cydnie Mason, yes?"

Closing her mouth, she confirmed with a nod

"Good then. Now, where to put you – where to put you…?" he chanted quietly, tapping his chin with his finger. "How about left section, fourth row, and first seat next to the aisle? How's that sound, good? That's great."

Not bothering to repeat her name to the rest of the class, Cyd climbed the stairs to her seat and avoided any stares or glances she was getting. Sliding in, her bag next to her left leg and pulled out a notepad and pen, and began jotting down notes on Steven King's _The Shining_ as the professor began to lecture once more.

---

_Tick. _

_Tick._

_Tick._

Reid listened the clock slowly tick his life way. He had already slept a good fifteen minutes in the beginning of the class, and was now resting his head in his folded arms on the desk. His pen tapped a rhythmic beat on his blank paper pad, for he had given up taking notes for the remainder of the class. Tyler was doing his work like a good little boy, which meant he wasn't planning on talking to Reid. Caleb and Pogue were sitting a couple rows below, across the aisle in the right section and appeared to be feigning their engrossment of Brookes' lecture, scribbling down notes every few minutes. It would seem like crime for him to interrupt their educational experience with a paper ball to the back of the head.

He seriously contemplated whistling to pass the time, but he knew that'd get him kicked out and he really didn't feel like moving. He sighed and sat back up, lightly bumping his back against the back wood, overtaken with boredness.

The doorknob jiggled as someone opened the door. This certain someone was a girl, a girl in which he'd never seen before. Which could only mean one thing; Fresh Meat. He watched as she stood there quietly, then looked up in his direction and waved at… Tyler? Reid watched as Tyler nodded his head back in acknowledgement at her and that's when he got confused.

_What the hell?_ Reid wondered, staring at the girl._ Does Tyler know her or something?_

He decided to ask.

Leaning over, he whispered to Tyler curiously. "Yo Ty, who's that girl?" and jerked his head toward her in emphasis.

Tyler kept writing, but replied to satisfy Reid's curiousness. "She that girl I had to pick up from the train station this morning," he sighed when Reid's expression didn't budge. "Remember? That's why I was late for Global Studies."

Reid shrugged and sat back in his original position and watched the girl walk to her assigned seat. She was clad in dark blue low-risers and a gray t-shirt that said something in French, with black patch-worked Converse. He smirked; she was definitely something he'd want – in his bed, that is. And best thing about it, was that she sitting diagonally upward from, so if he turned just the right way, he could see her in his peripheral vision.

And suddenly, Reid's day got so much more interesting. 

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**A/N:** I am not at all too happy about how this first chapter came out. But, frankly, I'm just too tired to give a damn. Stayed up all night to finish this, and I am now hallucinating I'm so tired… twelve pages later. I have no officially sat through the whole line-up of Adult Swim, plus the reruns and that little block of random anime. Which had Big O, and I practically squealed.

Hoped you all like it.

If you did, leave a review. If you didn't, leave a review.

Oh, and the scene between Tyler and Bert the ticket-guy was inspired by a scene in the Bubble Boy, when he's talking to that guy in the booth asking how much it is to get to Niagara Falls. I love that part, XD.

me + bed + sleep won't wake up for days.


	2. Do What You Want

**A/N: **Hm, not much to say for this author's note. Well, I've been trying to stay on top of these updates, because I know if I don't I'll get behind, my creative fountain will shrivel up and I'll most likely abandon it. And that's what I'm trying to keep from happening, 'cause I've had many plot bunnies about lots of things, but sadly, they've all died or are starving from lack of development in the plot.

I know, it's sad.

Um, in the last chapter you know how I said that the Full Moon was a week away? Yeah… well, I changed it. Her scheduled Change is going to be the day after her first day at Spencer. Okay? Good.

Oh, and just to let you know: no major ReidCyd will be happening until later chapters, so no rushy-rushy please. I'm doing my best as it is, trying to keep my procrastination under control and as I speak I'm supposed to be doing homework. Mathematics homework, to be exact. I'm telling you, school dictates my life... and I swear it enjoys it. :

One more thing, whatever I write about The Shining in this chapter has been mainly pulled out of my ass. Which basically means it's crap, because I have never picked up that book in my life.

Anyways…

**Standard disclaimers apply.**

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Do what you can, with what you have and where you are._

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Lunch had come around quicker than she expected.

Even though she had did have it right after Literature, it still came up fast. The rest of that class hadn't been half bad, unlike she had originally assumed before hand. Professor Brookes had droned on about _The Shining_ right after she had taken her seat and gotten prepared. All he talked about was how the plot twists and the intricate characters created a dark tale that still captivated people to this day… Blah, blah, blah. But, during the speech, she did notice that the blonde from earlier had acquired this habit of staring at her from the corner of his eyes when he thought she wouldn't notice. Well, she noticed and it had become slightly irritating. And when the bell rang, she almost shouted in praise when he left.

With help from the large herd of people going to lunch from her Lit. class, finding the cafeteria or _canteen –_ as some called it – was no sweat. The tall wooden doors to the lunch room were slightly intimidating as she walked by, towering over her by a good foot or so.

For the second time that day, Cyd almost gasped in utter surprise, but this time for an entirely different reason. The cafeteria was huge, the biggest she'd ever seen at least. It was the size of a large gymnasium, 3 elongated windows spaced out on two of the walls and a serving line on the fourth. It looked like an old dining hall, but with all the modern effects; foldable round tables with built-in seats, semi-identifiable food choices, and lunch ladies a little bit past their expiration date.

She knew she was getting many stares, points, and whispers as she picked up a plastic tray at the end of the line. Placing her tray on the metal sliding bars, her eyes scanned over her options behind the glass barrier. She was beginning to crave meat since the Full Moon was less than a week away, but what she saw staring back up at her looked anything but close to her idea of meat. The sign above it read: _Turkey Stew_, but what it looked like… she wasn't even sure. Large brown-colored chunks floated idly in a vat of grayish liquid, which bubbled slightly on occasion. She moved away from it quickly.

She skipped right over the vegetables also – both the broccoli and string beans looked overcooked and dull in color, much to her dislike. The end of the line was coming fast and she still had nothing on her tray, so she grabbed a plate and piled a small amount of macaroni and cheese on it along with an apple, then made her way to the register. A graying elderly woman sat on a metal cushioned stool, her wrinkled fingers shaking as she rang up the overall cost. The whole meal came up to a dollar-fifty, which she frowned a little at.

_Damn expensive school._ She cursed, fishing out her duct tape wallet. _I'm gonna go fucking poor before the month's over._

Handing the woman two bills, she collected her change and turned in the direction of the seating. She stood there for a second, contemplating where to sit. She saw Tyler sitting in the corner with his group of friends, but decided against intruding on him since she didn't know him that well. Taking a deep breath, she picked up a fork from the utensil station and walked towards an empty table in the back.

Her clothes stuck out like a sore thumb as she maneuvered between students and tables. The contrast between her outfit and their uniforms was practically a bright neon sign, pointing at her saying 'New Student'. But never the less, she kept her head held up high as she sat down at the only empty available table. Quietly placing her tray on the surface, she made sure that she didn't catch the eye of any of her observers and began to fork her mac and cheese. It made squelching noises as her fork spun it around the dish. After a few moments she put fork and pushed the plate away, before picking up the apple.

Just as her lips touched the crisp red skin, the bell rang and signified the end of the period. Bodies stood quickly from their seats and rushed out the door, making Cyd hurry to catch up so she could find her next period class. Taking hurried bites of her apple, she tossed it in the garbage along with the plate of macaroni. Grabbing her bag, she slung it over her shoulder and made her way out of the cafeteria, schedule in hand.

---

"I don't trust her."

"Caleb, you haven't even met her."

The peak of the conversation had risen between the Sons of Ipswich, when the subject in question had entered through the cafeteria doors. Caleb had immediately voiced his concerns about the transferee once they had all sat down, and was doing it once more after they had eaten. But Sarah was trying to tell him not to suspect everyone that walked through the doors, while Pogue and Tyler were backing her up every so often.

"Yeah, I know Pogue. But I just can't help it, after the whole Chase thing," Caleb voiced, squeezing Sarah's hand momentarily.

"Who is she, anyway?" asked Kate, trying to alter the conversation.

"Oh, her name's Cydnie Mason," Tyler answered, looking up from his Physics book. "She transferred in from Oregon today; I had to pick her up from the train station this morning."

Reid, who had been watching the new girl, turned around and entered the conversation. "See Caleb? She's from Oregon, she's _gotta_ be harmless."

Caleb let out an amused, but tired sigh. "Reid, just because she's from Oregon, doesn't she's harmless. Don't openly assume."

"Uh-huh…" came the absentminded reply, as Reid's eyes unambiguously watched Cyd's backside from his seat. But he wasn't alone, more than half of the male population was doing the same.

"Damn," he whispered.

And at that, Caleb closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose, Pogue sighed and a ran a hand through his hair, Tyler shook his head quietly as he tried to hold back a laugh, and both girls in snorted in contempt.

"Reid," Sarah and Kate said together. "You're such a pig."

---

It turned out that her study hall was on the opposite end of the school, and was harder to find than the Literature room. She had walked past it unknowingly several times, confused, and slightly pissed off at the person who designed the building. Trying her hardest not to scream in frustration, Cyd sat down against one of the barren wooden walls and the back of her head against it. Sighing, she inwardly gave up and decided to just skip her Study Hall period and explore, but make sure she was back before the beginning of her last period class. Who in their right mind would want to miss a co-ed swim class?

Standing, she brushed the imaginary dust from the back of her pants and took a left towards the stairs. Walking by the Administration Office, she contemplated stopping in and asking Mrs. Harris for directions and a map, but thought against it in the end. Pushing her way past the main doors, she didn't care who watched her walk of campus without a care and walk towards the dorms.

There was still fresh rain drops from an early morning shower that day, she noticed as her Converse gradually became more uncomfortably cold and wet by the passing second. It was excessively cooler and eerie underneath the trees, their large leaves and branches blocking out the grayish-overcast sky. On a normal day, Cydnie might have been cold, but the ever nearing Full Moon made her slightly feverish as her body got ready for Transformation. So naturally, the cool breeze felt nice against her slightly burning skin and calmed her heightening nerves greatly.

"Ahhh…" she sighed out, as if she had stepped into a hot bath.

Maybe she wouldn't go back to the dorms and instead sit outside against a nice tree, until it was time for her next class. It sounded relaxing enough. Not wanting to sit on the wet ground in fear of getting her jeans muddy and making it obvious she some place she wasn't so supposed to be, she pulled herself onto a low sturdy branch of a nearby tree. Settling herself against the bark of the tree, each of her legs hung off of one side of the limb, swinging on occasion.

When you're of the werewolf species, you are somewhat in tune with the nature around you, but not like singing with birds or touching trees to see how they feel, but in a much deeper sense. More like as if you're one with the wildlife surrounding you, hearing the rustle of leaves, the creaking of a tree, even the scamper of the of a small animal. And that's exactly how Cydnie felt, it felt peaceful… tranquil even. So much in fact, that it lulled her into a light slumber.

That is until a rustling noise and the distant sensation of something crawling on her, jerked her body awake. Being jerked out of sleep didn't do much for her balance, as she had to grab the branch she sat on, in order not to fall off in a heap. Faintly feeling something crawling up her neck, she frantically brushed an arachnid from her skin before reached the opening of her ear. Why it was heading in that direction, she had no idea. She watched as it fell to the leafy floor and switched her thoughts to the other thing that had woken her; the rustling. Staying still, she tried to listen for the noise again, but turned up empty handed in the end. She deducted it must have been some group of chipmunks or something running through a bush, and dismissed her suspicion for her silly imagination.

But her eyes had failed to pick up the shadow of figure, standing only two trees away from her own, slide back into the shade of the foliage.

Checking her cell phone in her pocket for the time, she cursed under breath at the time. She had less than three minutes to get back to the Academy before the end of seventh period. Hopping off the low limb, she checked to make sure she had all her things before jogging across the grounds to the front of the school. Pulling open the doors, she slipped in and found the closest ladies room possible. Setting down her bag on the counter, she brushed any excess leaves or grass that seemed to have tagged along with her. Fixing her hair and wiping down her Cons, she picked up her bag just as the bell rang.

---

Finding the girl's locker room entrance by the pool was easier than she originally thought, for most of the people walking by the bathroom she was in earlier were going in the same direction. Cyd had to fight her way through the sea of people before she found the actual door, opened it, and pulled her self inside. Walking calmly towards her assigned locker, she pretended she couldn't hear the not-so-bashful whispers about her by the other girls in the vicinity.

"Oh, look it's the new girl," one girl pointed out, whispering none too quietly to her friends.

"I heard she's so poor that Spencer had no other choices and had to accept her," another said. "See, she can't even afford the required uniform."

"Yeah, well poor or not. My boyfriend was staring at her during lunch!" one lashed out, clearly upset.

"Well, I heard that in her old school she dabbled in the dark arts and the other students were so scared of her that the school had no choice but to kick her out ," a large girl murmured just to the left of her.

"Don't say that too loud Courtney, she might hear us and curse us. Or even worse, kill us," Courtney's friend said quietly, cowering behind the larger girl when Cydnie's gaze shifted to the two before moving on. Once Cyd kept walking, the girls had let out a shaky breath, a hand over their hearts. "Oh my goodness, I thought we were about to die."

Cyd rolled her eyes and bit back the urge to growl maliciously at them, not wanting to be taken over by her inner-beast so early in the school year. Ignoring the other girls huddled together muttering about her, she finally found her locker, pulled out the combination from her bag and playing with the lock till it opened. Tossing her bag to the bottom, she saw that they had already put her specially ordered swim suit and grabbed it off the hook. Finding the toilet stalls, she locked the door behind her and changed in privacy. Just as she finished up and was about to open the door, she heard a nasty girl in particular spit rather ludicrous comment.

"I think she gets dressed in the stall because she really has a penis."

"Haha, good one Kiera."

Forcing open the door, Cydnie saw the owner of the comment, a slim, curly-haired girl. She was a couple inches taller than herself, holding this arrogant stance as she slowly walked towards her. Just as they were centimeters away from each other, the taller girl made a point to roughly bump shoulders with her as she walked by, making Cyd take a step backward. She heard Kiera snort in contempt, as her friends laughed haughtily while her following past the door to the pool.

If they hadn't been laughing so loudly, they could have easily heard the low thunderous growl rumbling in her throat.

---

The pool was large, clean, and clear. Three things she should have expected from a prestigious school like Spencer. Both girls and boys were scattered about, mostly sticking to the outside wall, talking amongst themselves. Leaning against the closest wall away from the door she sighed and closed her eyes, vaguely registering the sound of someone running toward her. Opening one eye, she saw Tyler nearing, smiling lightly at her. He must've been waiting for her to come out of the locker room, and finally saw her come out. Her brow rose slightly at the little strip of material that seemed to barely to cover his lower section, but looked up and opened both eyes before he noticed what she was staring at.

She waved at him once he was closer, giving him a small smile. "Hey."

"Hey," he said. "How's your day been so far?"

She shrugged. "Good, I guess. Nothing really eventful has happened."

"That's good, but I really came over here to warn you," he said, glancing over at the Coach's closed office door.

"Warn me?" she asked skeptically.

"Yeah, Coach Barber has weird inspection thing for the beginning of the year and transfers… like you." Tyler began.

"Uh-huh…?"

"And yeah, it really just teeters on the edge of sexual harassment," he finished.

Cyd looked at him for a long moment before saying anything. "You're not serious, ar–"

Abruptly she was interrupted by a booming sound of the door office of the office was slammed open, smashing against the wall behind.

A large, slightly overweight man emerged from the office, his black hair beginning to grey at the roots. He was at least 6"2 in height and forty-seven in age, wearing a steel blue polo and tan khaki pants. Behind him, a significantly smaller man trailed him, wearing a black polo and khakis. His brown hair was cut a little too short, and glasses gave a meek look to him, as he carried a single clipboard in his arms. They stopped their little parade in front of the middle of the pool, and everyone turned to give them full attention.

It was obvious that the head couch was the taller of the two, standing military straight, looking each and every student in the eye and stopped once his gaze met Cyd's green eyes. He frowned slightly, realizing he did not recognize her, and pointed a pudgy finger at her.

"You," he singled her out, still pointing. "In front of me, _right now_!"

She could hear Tyler whisper "Good luck," to her as she walked past him. She could feel all eyes on her as she made her way up to the front. Once she stood in front of them, the hefty man eyed her once more before snatching the clipboard away from the man next to him. She watched as his eyes scanned down the paper in front of him, scrunching together towards the ends, before flipping that sheet over and reading the one underneath, repeating this cycle once more before he found her name. As she waited, she became increasing unnerved by the guys' rude comments and sounds. Some were wolf-calling, which she found slightly ironic, and others were either commenting about how nice her legs and ass looked.

Cyd almost jumped out of her skin, when the teacher's voice bellowed her name. "Cydnie Mason?!"

"Y-yes?" she stuttered, still partially startled.

"I'm Coach Barber and you'll address me as so. And this is," he gestured toward his counterpart. "Mister or Coach Meyers, the assistant coach, he's still a little new here so show him some respect. Got it?"

She nodded.

"Good, now stay still," Barber ordered, bending down.

"Wait, wha –?"

Suddenly, he began slapping the back of her thighs, right underneath the curve of her butt cheek. He pushed her legs farther apart, into some sort of stance as he squeezed the muscle of her inner thigh, making her feel extremely uncomfortable. His hands traveled down to her calves, squeezing there, then up to her stomach, pushing certain areas with two of his fingers. He gripped upper arms tightly, and then felt the muscles in her lower, middle, and upper back. Finally, he stepped back and she felt thoroughly molested.

Then, he asked her a question.

"What do you do?"

The question was confusing. "What do I do what?"

"What do you do to keep in shape?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Cyd thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "Nothing really."

He looked genuinely surprised for second, before uncrossing his arms and stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I don't believe you can get a body like that, by 'doing nothing'." He air quoted. "Boys c'mere."

And when he said boys, he meant the Four Sons of Ipswich. Looking at each other apprehensively, they slowly made their way up the coach and stood quite awkwardly in their little trunks. "Yeah Coach?" Caleb asked for all of them.

"I want you boys to do a thorough inspection on Ms. Mason here," the coach told them gruffly.

Caleb almost chocked on his own spit, but covered it up with a well-placed cough. Most of the others boys had greatly similar reactions to this request. Tyler stared at the Coach like he was crazy, Pogue ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes as if he hadn't just heard that, and Reid… Reid did nothing on outside, but on the inside he licked his lips in anticipation. The coach scoffed at their reactions.

"You heard me."

Cydnie gulped uneasily as each guy got down on their knees, one by one and began to feel up different places on her body. That's when calls started coming; various wolf howls, cat calls, and me-owes echoed in the large room and added to the boys and Cyd's embarrassment. She watched the faces of the four, as their expression changed from mortified to amazed the more they examined her body. Coach Barber looked fairly satisfied at the boys' realization, as he whispered things to the assistant coach to write down in the section next to Cyd's name.

The group finally stood to their full height and were dismissed back to their spots soon after. She stood there awkwardly by herself for a few moments, wishing they were back with so she didn't feel totally alone, but was quickly dismissed after a few uncomfortable minutes.

---

The rest of Swimming class went along uneventfully, except for every few minutes she thought she the blonde kid from earlier look at her when he she couldn't see him. He was on the opposite side of the pool because Coach Meyers had the class split up the depending on gender, but she swore she saw him looking a couple times but could never seem to catch him in the act. Finally her suspicions were confirmed, when Coach Barber yelled at him during drills.

"Garwin! Stop staring at the fresh meat and swim!"

Half the girls on her side glared daggers in Cyd's general direction, while the other half rolled their eyes at Reid and continued to practice. Kiera, she had noticed, was on the half that was glaring. A good couple times she found herself begin kicked in the side or in head by some well-aimed kicks under the water. Twice she almost drowned, once being kicked straight in the face several times in a row by Kiera under the water and the other someone had jumped in, landing square in the middle of her back, knocking the wind out of her.

Finally, the assistant coach blew his metal whistle signaling it time to get out. Hoards of people streamed out of the pool and ran into their specific locker rooms, fighting to get the showers first. Cyd was last out of the pool and took her time pulling herself out, feeling forming bruises on her back and stomach, but she wasn't worried about them, they'd be small and heal quickly. They might've kicked her a lot, but they kicked like three-legged donkeys.

Pulling open the door, she went to grab a towel and wait in line for the shower, but was but off by a chin. No wait, that couldn't be right. Looking up she saw red curls and scowled. Keira pushed her back and wiped off her hands on towel, as if she had just touched something dirty. It was obvious she was still upset about the whole 'getting felt up for education thing' and Reid staring at her earlier.

"So," she started. "I heard that you killed someone back at your old school and juevy wouldn't even take you. That's so sad." She _reeked _of feigned sympathy.

She clenched her fists.

"Yeah? Well, I heard that you're a whore. But for some reason, that doesn't surprise me," she said somewhat offhandedly.

This added comment didn't seem to calm Kiera's rage, but just add fuel to the fire. She attacked Cyd, pushing her out the door to the pool and to the ground, straddling her waist. She smacked her fists near Cyd's head, trying to get a good hit on her face. Done with Kiera's sick idea of a fight, Cydnie pushed her off her and rolled away, getting up about a foot later. By that time, a boy had come out of the locker and informed to the other guys that there was fight going on.

"Hey guys! Kiera and that new chick and fighting out by their pool, in their _bathing suits_!" the guy shouted, and was pushed out of the way less then a minute later.

By that time, a small circular crowd had formed around the two, bets being place and chants being yelled. The Sons had made it out just in time to see Cyd deliver a right hook to Kiera's eye and Kiera crumple to the ground in pain. She felt the immediate swelling around her eye and cursed, trying to attack again, but was held back by the sudden appearance of Coach Meyers, hooking his arms under hers. Suddenly, Cyd felt a weight clasp firmly on her shoulder and looked up, seeing the none-too happy face of Coach Barber, who had easily split the crowd with his size. Looking from Kiera to Cyd, he tried to assess to situation at hand.

"What's going on here ladies?" he questioned.

"She called me a whore!" Kiera spat viciously.

Mr. Barber looked down, as if to ask if this true and Cyd only shrugged in response.

"Hey, she called me a murderer."

Barber sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Okay. Kiera go take a quick shower and go to the nurse right after for some ice, you're gonna have quite the shiner. And you here," he said, facing Cydnie. "You're gonna stay right here and tell me everything that happened, take a shower after Kiera leaves, then go straight down to the Provost, go it?"

"Yeah, sure. But as for that first request, you already know the whole story. What you heard a couple minutes was all that happened, 'cept for the fact that she initiated the conversation and attack. I was totally on my D the whole time. Oh, and D means defense by the way," Cyd finished, beginning to get itchy from the chlorine. "Can I please go take a shower now?"

Once she got the go ahead, she ran into the locker room. Taking a rushed shower, she applied lotion and changed out of her suit and into her normal clothes in peace. Pushing past the door to the hall entrance, she was about to walk, but a hand caught her upper arm and tugged slightly. Turning around, she met the gaze of Tyler as he let go of her arm. Tilting her head in confusion, she adjusted the straps of her bag and waited for him to say something. What would he want with her after school, on a Friday no less? She watched with slight amusement as he fidgeted and pulled at his tie, as if the corridor had suddenly gotten to warm.

"Tyler?" she initiated the conversation.

"Uh, hey Cyd… I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me, the guys, Sarah, and Kate to Nicky's tonight around 7:30?" Tyler spoke, his fidgeting lessening considerably. "You know, just so can meet everyone."

Nicky's? She'd never heard of the place, which she wasn't that surprised, since she hadn't even been there a full day yet.

She shrugged. "Yeah sure, why not. What is it anyway?" she asked.

"It's a – " Out of the blue, that same blonde, Garwin the coach called him, from earlier exited the boys locker room, and began dragging Tyler away. "It's a bar, meet me at the front stairs at seven!" he yelled, being cut off by a tug around a corner.

She waved back at the now empty hall, and made her way – grudgingly – toward Provost Higgins office.

* * *

**A/N: **You guys better happy for this one! I pulled an all-nighter to finish this and now I'm dead. x.x I have to get up in like 6 hours and do a packet of math, start and finish a book _and_ do a book report on it, then a essay, plus a review packet for Global studies. And everything's do tomorrow! 

Once again, I did not re-read this chapter and nor do I plan to until after it's out. Why you ask? 'Cause I can. So I apologize before hand if anything is confusing, missing something, or just doesn't make sense altogether. I blame sleep deprivation!

Um, also it'd be nice if I'd could get some criticism in nice long review. That's the least I deserve from you guys for staying up all right, when I could be getting some nice extra sleep instead! Flames are welcome.

HandCRAMP.

TwitchTWITCHHH.

DIIIEEESSSS.

Ugh.


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